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Mindfulness and the Breath…The Common Denominator

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woman at beach

For years I’ve debated with myself about what the most effective and direct approach is to bringing the present moment experience into my life. My tendency is to think that the combination of using physical sensations/the 5 senses, thinking, emotions and the breath is the most effective and balanced practice. Lately, every time I use the breath I get a thought that this is the common denominator. I don’t know why it’s important to me to specify what the common denominator is in mindfulness but since it keeps presenting itself to me I think it may deserve some attention.

To begin with, when I’m feeling stressed I find it easier to focus on the breath. I don’t know if that is the case for everyone, but it certainly is for me. Since I’m a fan of the path of least resistance I naturally gravitate to the breath in these situations. It seems to reconnect me with my body easier and faster than any other aspect of the practice. In the world of stress this is a big deal. Coping with stress usually involves some degree of disconnection. When we disconnect from our bodies we also disconnect from our thoughts, emotions and breath so if coming to the breath somehow reconnects me to these things quickly and easily… all the better. This is very important because that disconnection somehow perpetuates being stuck in fight or flight. It’s “as if” the body senses the disconnection and interprets it as meaning that there is still a danger to survival. As long as that perception remains, fight or flight to some degree will be present.

When we go into a stress reaction one of the first things that we notice is the change in our breathing. Instead of a slow, deep, nasal breath that starts in the belly we shift to a fast, shallow, mouth breath that situates itself in the chest. This kind of breathing is unhealthy for many reasons, probably mostly because it limits the amount of oxygen we take in. Our bodies are very dependent on oxygen to maintain peak functioning. The breath seems to always be front and center to how we function. In fact, when we stop functioning/die, the breath, or rather the lack of it, is the easiest way of telling that life as we are used to it has ceased. Life begins with that first breath and ends with the last. In between we want to maintain the natural rhythm of breathing and the best way to do that is by attending to it mindfully.

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Mindfulness, Stress and Attention

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attention matter

Let’s explore attention as it relates to mindfulness and stress by starting with a baseline definition:

“Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether deemed subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of limited processing resources.[1]

Attention remains a major area of investigation within education, psychology, neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology. Areas of active investigation involve determining the source of the sensory cues and signals that generate attention, the effects of these sensory cues and signals on the tuning properties of sensory neurons, and the relationship between attention and other behavioral and cognitive processes like working memory and vigilance. A relatively new body of research, which expands upon earlier research within neuropsychology, is investigating the diagnostic symptoms associated with traumatic brain injuries and their effects on attention. Attention also varies across cultures.[2]

The relationships between attention and consciousness are complex enough that they have warranted perennial philosophical exploration. Such exploration is both ancient and continually relevant, as it can have effects in fields ranging from mental health and the study of disorders of consciousness to artificial intelligence and its domains of research and development.”

Attention as it relates to mindfulness and stress is all of the above and more. We need something to steer awareness/consciousness and that is attention. Attention is like a rudder in a boat. We need the rudder to plot a course and take us from place to place. Applied to stress, attention is the game changer. When we go into a stress reaction our main coping mechanism is an ability to disconnect as a way of protecting us from anything unpleasant that may happen. We disconnect from all that is us…our bodies, thoughts, emotions and breath. In addition, there is a tendency to remain disconnected over a period of time thus perpetuating the fight or flight response. It’s “as if” the body senses when we are disconnected and interprets that as meaning there is still danger present. As long as the body interprets it that way, it is going to continue the disconnection as a way of coping with the fear of present danger. It’s really a catch 22 in that we won’t come out of fight or flight until we sense there is no more danger and we won’t let go of that fear until we reconnect to the body.

This reconnecting after fight or flight used to be a natural process that kicked in smoothly and returned us to balance. This doesn’t seem to be happening like it used to. It seems like we need to take an extra step to help facilitate that process. That extra step is mindfulness. It teaches us how to reconnect from everything that we disconnected from as a result of fight or flight. As we reconnect to the body, thoughts, emotions and breath it is “as if” the body senses that because of this reconnection it is safe to assume that the danger has passed. When this assumption takes place the body shifts the autonomic nervous system back into balance and brings us out of fight or flight.. That, in a nutshell, is the relationship of attention to mindfulness and stress.

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Is There a Right Place to Practice Mindfulness Meditation?

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room

I’ve been asked many times if there is an ideal place to practice formal mindfulness meditation. Like so many of my answers I tend to say “it depends”. If we are just beginning our meditation practice I would recommend a comfortable place with as few distractions as possible. That would translate to a place that is quiet, has a neutral or no smell to it and a comfortable place to sit whether it is on a cushion, chair or whatever your preference. With mindfulness meditation the emphasis is on connecting to the body, thoughts, emotions and breath so the fewer distractions from those four things the better. There are other kinds of meditation where we connect to other things such as mantras, images (internal and external) and other things seemingly outside of ourselves where meditation environment can be modified using incense and other aids to stimulate various reactions and experiences. All of that is very interesting but can result in the focus being “elsewhere”.

There is the argument that there is no elsewhere and everything stems from the self but that is a discussion that could take up many books and still would only be conjecture as these things are difficult to prove. For now we will agree that we live in a relative world where we need to adhere to the definitions of the relative world such as there being an inside and outside of ourselves. Perhaps to further complicate matters I will also say that once a degree of mindfulness is experienced, those different kinds of meditation can be explored with more balanced results.

Once we have established our mindfulness meditation practice it is not as necessary to create the ideal environment although I always try to set things up that way. If I can’t create that ideal environment for meditation then I just go with the flow. In fact, there is perhaps something to be said for learning how to adapt our meditation practice to fit any kind of environment. That’s not to say that my preference would be to meditate in a noisy, smelly place but it would be good to be able to adapt to something like that when necessary. It’s a good practice for life to be able to adapt our meditation practice that way. There should be a continuum between our formal mindfulness meditation and mindfulness in daily activity. Having the flexibility of being able to meditate under any conditions helps to create that continuum so that the experiences of meditation are able to spill over into everyday life and everyday life spills over into meditation resulting in a 24×7 experience of being present.

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What Does It Mean to Achieve Mindfulness?

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budding plants

We live in a culture of achievement so naturally we are all curious about how to achieve mindfulness. For many years I believed that there would come a day when mindfulness would click in permanently and would be unshakeable thereafter. I have come to understand achievement differently when it comes to mindfulness and how that understanding also reflects life. Mindfulness, or paying attention to the present moment is a universal experience but needs to be continuously cultivated in order to sustain it. In addition, there are degrees of mindfulness that continue to unfold with practice. Even after many years of practice I continue to notice nuances about the present moment and how it relates to me. I have come to the conclusion that there is no end to the unfolding of mindfulness and that we never get “there” because “there” continues to change and unfold from moment to moment. This is good news as it offers us an opportunity to see things in a new way from moment to moment and allows us to grow in how we experience life.

What does it take to continuously cultivate mindfulness? I have discovered that the answer to that question is…it depends. In fact I find myself using that answer more and more, particularly as it relates to mindfulness but also in life. One example would be environment. I think environment/ culture plays a big role in what it takes to sustain mindfulness. If we are living in a modern, technologically based society it takes much more practice than if we were living in a culture that was more in contact with it’s roots….their culture’s roots, individual and earth roots. Living in a culture/environment like that affords us the opportunity to be present more easily as it allows for our natural experience to express itself. That natural experience has the present moment as it’s rudder. The further we get away from that natural experience, the more practice it takes to sustain it. The good news is.. regardless of situation there is always the opportunity to connect with the present moment.

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Mindfulness and Short Cuts

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easy way out sign

Over the past two to three years as mindfulness becomes more commercialized I’ve been noticing more and more claims for short cuts to the present moment. Just this week I came across an app that connects you to music “scientifically proven” to hasten our arrival into the present moment along with all the goodies that come along with being present. I listened to the music and it was pleasant enough…. almost sounding like Buddhist Monks chanting but without the Monks. We can add this to the growing list of claims to hasten mindfulness.

The first question to ask is “what’s the rush” and the second one is “where are we going”? Usually if we are learning mindfulness we feel a need to make an improvement in our lives. Sometimes there is an element of desperation due to an uncomfortable situation so there is a legitimate rush in many cases. This creates the market for short cuts. One of the first things we learn about mindfulness is that the harder we try to “get there” the harder it is to “get there”. So, being in a rush is counter productive and the sooner we can let go of striving the sooner we will experience results from our practice. The second question of “where are we going” is important because we are already there and cleaning the windshield of awareness is all it takes to realize that. So…we can say that we are in a rush to get to where we already are…obviously a ridiculous statement to make and one that speaks to the nonsense of short cuts in mindfulness.

There are situations where short cuts/abbreviated practice could be useful although we would have to modify the expectations up front so as to be completely truthful to those who are treading that path. Depending on where we are starting, it is possible that a little bit of practice could create some noticeable positive change in a relatively short period of time. Some of us are in such great need that a small shift is a major accomplishment and something to be very grateful for. There are many reasons why some of us simply can’t make much of a commitment and the argument that something is better than nothing becomes an accurate statement. Hopefully a little taste of results from a short cut will serve to open the door to a more sustained practice. Unfortunately, the results from short cuts also tend to end up being short lived. However, if the short cut created enough impetus to take the next step to sustained practice then perhaps in those cases the short cut was worthwhile.

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Mindfulness: Back to Basics…the Breath

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breath swirls

There’s a tendency to make mindfulness practice more complicated than it is. There’s a lot of reasons for this. Two that come to mind are 1. a lack of understanding of the process and 2. a tendency to think that the more words employed in teaching and writing the more “expert” it seems. In that case, it’s almost as if that person is getting paid by the word…which a lot of writers actually are. The more appropriate situation would be just the reverse…getting paid by how few words are used.

To me, the core of the practice is the attention being paid to the present moment through the medium of the breath, body, thoughts, emotions and 5 senses(the body). They are all interconnected but we are able to create loose categories when describing the details. When I look for the common denominator of all these I always seem to come back to the breath. I’ve seen amazing transformations while focusing simply on the breath. My instructions always include 1. breathing in and out through the nose, 2. sensing the movement of the belly and 3. embodying the attitudes of self compassion/acceptance and alert attention. While employing these instructions we fully experience the breath as it is in the moment without changing anything. These instructions are designed to counteract the results of breathing from chronic stress. Stress causes us to breathe from the chest and mouth which combined with a rapid, shallow breath limits the amount of oxygen coming into the body. This pattern of breathing also results in the continuation of being stuck in the stress cycle/fight, flight or freeze. It’s almost as if the body senses the irregular breathing and interprets it as being an indication that danger is still near resulting in a continuation of fight or flight. When the body senses the regular “normal” breathing pattern it interprets it as the danger being gone and it is safe to come out of fight or flight. I know this sounds a bit simplistic but it is the observation of many years of my own practice and the millions of people who have practiced over the centuries…..not to mention the “Johnny come lately” scientific studies which are abounding over the past thirty years.

The breath is a good reflection of what is going on with us. If we pay close attention to it we will learn a lot about ourselves. The breath is also a convenient bridge between the autonomic and central nervous systems. It is really part of both. It runs by itself(autonomic) and can be easily brought under conscious control(central). Overlapping as it does, it provides an opportunity for the unconscious and conscious parts of ourselves to partner in communication. This is a very good thing as it paves the way for an inner synchronicity that helps to keep the entire system in balance. So let’s pay homage to our friend the breath and greet it with full attention moment to moment.

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Mindfulness: Why Issues Are Not The Issue

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issue in focus

Mindfulness is able to address so many different issues that it is difficult to mention them all in a short blog. The general categories are physical, mental and emotion(and for some, spiritual even though I teach the secular version) and apply to health issues as well as learning, performance, leadership and just about every other kind of experience. When learning mindfulness one of the first things we address is the attitude of non striving. We are not trying to change anything, rather we are opening up to the full experience of what is happening in the present moment. Of course we really are trying to change things and make things better in some way for us. The paradox in mindfulness is that the harder we try to change things the more they stay the same or get worse. An athlete will always say that they are better off when they let the game come to them rather than force it. It is the same thing with all aspects of life and takes some practice in letting go of old ways and trusting in the new. We are enlisting the cooperation of the body in creating the right circumstances for positive change. The principle involved here is that the body has the ability to self heal and re align itself if given a chance.

Stress plays a huge role in preventing us from reaching our full potential. When we go into a stress reaction there is a tendency to disconnect as a protective mechanism. We are actually hard wired to disconnect in these situations. The real problem occurs when we get stuck in the disconnect of fight or flight. As a result of this disconnection we go down the rabbit hole and experience the sequence of dis-attention, disconnection, dis-communication, dis-regulation, disorder and disease. This has been demonstrated in numerous studies and speaks loudly of the ramifications of unresolved stress. All of the issues that come up as a result of this sequence are merely symptoms, not causes. As we all know, the most effective way to address an issue is by addressing the cause, not the symptom. The cause is the disconnection not the issue/issues.

In mindfulness the practice is about paying attention moment by moment to whatever is happening regardless of the quality of the experience….to be completely inclusive. We do this for the sake of re connecting to ourselves and the world around us. It defines a new sequence of attention, connection, communication, regulation, order and ease. This is of course the exact opposite of the sequence that is working against us…dis-attention, disconnection, dis-communication, dis-regulation, disorder and disease. So we see that by addressing the true cause of disconnection we can bypass addressing all the symptoms/issues and go right to the heart of creating an environment of experiencing our full potential.

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The Bare Simplicity of Why Mindfulness Works

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common denominator

There are now well over 2000 studies that attest to the efficacy of mindfulness. The studies cover the fields of physical, mental and emotional health as well as the workplace, schools, sports, leadership, resilience and a host of related areas. Is there a common denominator that we can point to as the pivotal event that takes place to make mindfulness work? To find the common denominator we need to look at the field of stress which is where mindfulness found its cultural popularity over the last few years. Stress is really a catch all description of what happens when things get out of sync. Being out of sync causes a domino effect that affects us on many levels and in many different ways. That domino effect can stay with us for a short period or a long period. The biggest problem occurs when the stress is sustained for long periods of times, in many cases over many years. When that happens there is a real threat to the functioning of the entire system.

The key to identifying the common denominator can be found in how we are hard wired to protect ourselves when we go into the stress/fight or flight reaction. The main coping mechanism is our ability to disconnect during intense stress. This can happen over a brief period of time or over an extended period of time. Fight or flight is our response to a perceived (real or imagined) threat to survival. If our survival is threatened then there is a good chance of pain, suffering and possibly death. What better way to cope than to disconnect from what is happening so that we don’t have to experience the nastiness of it. Actually there is a better way to cope but that will be a subject for another blog. In the meantime we are hardwired to disconnect and until we can unlearn that, we are stuck with it. So what is it we disconnect from? We disconnect from everything and in our case everything means our bodies, thoughts, emotions, breath and five senses. We lose touch with our ability to communicate with ourselves and when that happens we lose the ability to make informed, important decisions about our overall welfare and our ability to function efficiently. Left with no one at the controls, the mind/body etc. tends to fall into a state of disorder. What role does mindfulness play in reversing this disorder?

At the core of mindfulness practice is the process of paying close attention to the body, breath, thoughts, emotions and five senses. Those are the same things that we disconnected from when we went into the stress reaction. Besides regaining access to all the information available to us through these information centers there is an element of energy and focus that returns and adds to the illumination of the present moment experience. We aren’t expert at measuring this energy and focus yet but we are making great strides in that direction. To pay attention to these things in this way is the underlying reason why mindfulness works. The process can be summarized by the following sequence: Attention, connection, communication, regulation, order and ease. Research serves an important role in defining the details of this process but sometimes it results in being hard to see the forest for the trees. Well, here’s the forest……

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How to Create the Mindfulness Habit

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habits

We humans are called creatures of habit so it would make sense to explore how we can utilize our natural tendencies to create the mindfulness habit. Before I begin I would like to point out the irony of using habit and mindfulness in the same sentence. By definition, a mindful experience, or as I call it, “Mindfuling” is embodied with intention and therefore defies the habit description. Habits are usually thought of as things we do automatically. In mindfulness practice we do things to help break patterns/habits. Automatic patterns tend to create limitation so to the extent we can limit those patterns we can also stretch limitations and creativity. That being said, how can we create flexible mindfulness habits that are not written in stone but have a useful flow to them?

The first thing to consider is motivation. Without the proper motivation it will be difficult to sustain the necessary level of mindfuling. My experience has been that because mindfulness is so different from what we are used to it can be a challenge to stay with it. It is very helpful if there is a deep yearning to relieve a sense of discomfort of some sort. If that yearning is there then there is a good chance to stay with the practice on a regular basis. Once that happens it could be argued that a habit of sorts has been created. I’ve seen people practicing mindfulness because it is the new “in thing” and because they don’t want to be left out. These people usually don’t stick with it to any degree that will help. There is a lot of watered down mindfulness lately that is much easier to stick with but does not have the capacity to create lasting constructive change. However, it may plant a seed for some time in the future when the motivation is there.

The next factor to consider is the level of accessibility to reliable instruction. There is a lot of information out there and sometimes it is difficult to know what is good. I don’t know of any short cuts to figuring this out. Like anything else you need to do your research and do your best to know what seems right for you. There are lots of excellent books, videos, articles and other forms of information to choose from. The best by far is to find a teacher who will work with you in person. It can be individually but I find that medium sized groups are best. If the teacher is a good communicator, has a sense of humor and is experienced in mindfulness there is a good chance you will enjoy the learning experience. That in turn will complement the motivation and add to your ability to practice regularly. Once again, I hesitate to use the word habit so I’ll just stay with regularly. Other forms of contact with the teacher such as phone, video conferencing etc. can be very effective but the greatest impact is in person.

Once the two key elements of motivation and teacher are addressed we can look at some of the other factors to help us create flexible, mindful habits . Although we are practicing to be in the present moment it is wise to use mindful attention to do some constructive planning for the future. Simple practical ideas around time of day, environment, attitudes and posture help us to slip into our present moment practice of mindfulness meditation. For bringing mindfulness into daily activity the most important thing is remembering. Since mindfulness in daily life doesn’t require a formal shift, all we need to do is to remember to bring what we have learned from the formal practice into our daily lives.

Finally, experiencing heartening results helps us to keep the practice going. Although a key attitude is non striving, there is no denying that when we begin to achieve what we are not trying to achieve :-), enthusiasm will mix with motivation and instruction to create a potent habit infused with flexibility.

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Mindfulness and Monkey/Racing Mind

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racing mind

Over the years one of the primary reasons people have come to my classes has been to address what is commonly known as monkey mind or racing mind. Monkey mind is the experience of non stop thinking. The mind goes from one thought to the next without taking a breather. It seems to be a condition that has intensified with the advent of the technological era. In fact, in my current class of 25 people, monkey mind was expressed as being the number one concern of everyone in the class. There are many reasons people come to a mindfulness based stress reduction program but this is the first time monkey mind was the unanimous concern.

The racing mind has been around for a long time but because it has intensified recently now is a good time to put additional attention on it. There have been many approaches over the years that have tried to address this issue, most being ways to distract and disconnect. Even benign practices such as chanting, visualization, prayer and so forth only stem the tide temporarily. It seems like the harder we resist our thoughts the more they persist in coming back. By the time I found mindfulness I had tried a number of these approaches. Like everyone else I discovered that although there were many interesting things to be learned with these practices, slowing down the mind was not one of them.

It wasn’t until I started practicing mindfulness that my mind began to slow down. It was a revelation to me to discover that when I stopped resisting my thoughts and simply noticing them objectively that the constant thinking actually began to slow down. I also learned that my thoughts weren’t necessarily true and needed to be taken with a grain of salt.

In time, I began to notice spaces between thoughts. As I began to explore those spaces I discovered that they would increase during the discovery process. In those spaces between thoughts I came to the experience of stillness, quiet and peace. To this day I continue to explore this and I have found no end to the depth of these experiences. It almost seemed like a recording on some level.

After more practice I found my thoughts stopping for extended periods of time and it took intention to start them up again. That’s when I realized that I could choose to think or not think. I must say that it is very restful to choose not to think for awhile. When choosing to think the quality of my thoughts is much more lucid and efficient. There is also a greater sense of creativity, clarity and intuition that comes with this new way of thinking. I now view the mind like a horse. I wouldn’t think of getting on a wild horse until it was trained to the point where it would follow my directions and could be trusted. I know many of us are trying to ride a wild horse but with some mindfulness training why not tame the horse and enjoy it.

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